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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ®1 V~l <br /> OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS <br /> 711 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 500 <br /> Honolulu, Hawai'i 96613 <br /> (808) 594-1888 <br /> HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL <br /> 26th SESSION <br /> Bill No. 207 (Draft 3): AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 10, HAWAII <br /> COUNTY CODE (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), ESTABLISHING A REAL PROPERTY TAX <br /> EXEMPTION FOR KULEANA LAND. <br /> <br /> DATE: January 24, 2008 TIME: 8:30 a.m. Council Meeting; <br /> 10:30 a.m. on Agenda <br /> PLACE: Hawaii County Council, 333 Kilauea Avenue (Ben Franklin <br /> Building), Second Floor, Council Room, Hilo, Hawaii <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Aloha, Chair Hoffmann and Members. I am Rowena Akana, Trustee-at-Large <br /> of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. My testimony is in support of Bill No. <br /> 207 (Draft 3), which would establish a tax exemption for persons living on <br /> Kuleana lands who are descendants of the original owners. Many Hawaiian <br /> families, who have been caring for their Kuleana lands for generations, are <br /> now facing sky-rocketing property taxes because of luxury resorts and <br /> shopping malls being built next-door. If something isn't done soon, more <br /> Kuleana lands could fall out of Hawaiian hands. <br /> <br /> This issue first came to my attention several years ago when a family <br /> came to OHA and asked that we take custody of their Kuleana land until they <br /> were able to save up enough money to pay off their back taxes. <br /> The history of Kuleana lands is a tragic one. According to Kumu Pono <br /> Associates LLC, Kuleana lands came into existence as a result of the Mahele. <br /> In 1848, all land in the Kingdom of Hawaii was placed in one of three <br /> categories: Crown Lands (for the occupant of the throne); Government Lands; <br /> and Konohiki Lands (Kuleana Act, 1850). <br /> Ownership rights to all lands in the kingdom were "subject to the <br /> rights of the native tenants;" those individuals who lived on the land and <br /> worked it for their subsistence and the welfare of the chiefs (Kanawai Hoopai <br /> Karaima... {Penal Code} 1850:22). The 1850 resolutions in "Kanawai Hoopai <br /> Karaima no ko Hawaii Pae Aina," authorized the newly formed Land Commission <br /> to award fee-simple title to all native tenants who occupied and improved any <br /> portion of Crown, Government, or Konohiki lands. <br /> <br /> After commoners were granted the opportunity to acquire their own <br /> parcels of land through the Mahele, foreigners were also granted the right to <br /> own land in 1850, provided they had sworn an oath of loyalty to the Hawaiian <br /> Monarch. In order to receive their awards from the Land Commission, the <br /> hoa`aina (native tenants) were required to prove that they cultivated the <br /> land for a living. They were not permitted to acquire "wastelands" (e.g. <br /> 1 <br />